Montana shocked Levski Sofia as a guest after a five-set battle
Montana inflicted the first home defeat on champion Levski Sofia, triumphing in a dramatic match with a score of 3:2 (22:25, 25:23, 25:22, 22:25, 14:16). This is only the second loss of the season for Nikolay Zhelyazkov's team, which was without captain Svetoslav Gotsev and middle blocker Nikolay Nikolaev, both absent due to injuries. The "blues'" starting libero, Damyan Kolev, also did not play, replaced by Konstantin Chipev.
Montana also played with a depleted squad, as Pavel Dushkov will be out for at least eight months. Russian opposite Vasily Molotkov, who will join French club Paris Volley at the end of the season, made episodic appearances on serve, but in the tie-break, head coach Daniel Peev was forced to bring him on permanently after the hosts took a 5:4 lead. In his short time on the court, Molotkov recorded 5 points (2 aces). His replacement, Mark Mikhailov, scored 15 points (1 block) with 42% attack efficiency.
The most effective player for the winners was Kristiyan Aleksov with 20 points (2 aces, 2 blocks), 59% in attack, and an impressive 77% positive reception. Montana's captain, Georgi Elchinov, was named MVP, contributing 7 crucial points from the bench.
For Levski Sofia, Veni Antov was the top scorer with 27 points (1 block, 46% in attack), and Julius Firkal added 25. Osoria (11 points) and Todor Skrimov (10) also contributed steadily, but this was not enough for more than one point in the standings.
Levski remains the clear leader with 56 points, having secured first place for the playoffs two rounds ago. Montana is in fourth position with 37 points, and the battle for places 2nd to 5th is extremely tight two rounds before the end.
In the other match of the day, Beroe achieved an expected away victory against Dunav Ruse with a score of 3:1 (16:25, 25:16, 25:23, 25:18) and solidified its position in the top 5 of the standings. After the win, the "green-whites" occupy fifth place with 35 points (12 wins, 8 losses), while Dunav remains at the bottom - 12th position with 14 points (4 wins, 16 losses).
The MVP of the match was Lyuboslav Telkiyski from Beroe, and the top scorer for the Stara Zagora team was Zhasmin Velichkov with 18 points. Spas Bayrev added another 15 for the win.
For Dunav, Alex Nikolov was the top scorer, finishing with 19 points, but his efforts were not enough to save the team from another defeat.
In the penultimate mid-week round, decisive clashes await us:
Montana hosts second-placed Neftochimik
Third-placed Lokomotiv Avia hosts Levski
Fifth-placed Beroe welcomes tough Pirin, who is 9th and will fight for a playoff spot, as Cherno More is in eighth position with whom they have equal points.
The battle for the playoffs continues with full force!
It won't be uninteresting at the bottom of the table either, where Dunav travels to Pazardzhik on Wednesday for an "all or nothing" match to avoid direct relegation from the elite.
